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16 for all things in heaven and on earth were created in him—all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions,[a] whether principalities or powers—all things were created through him and for him.
17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together[b] in him.
18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn[c] from the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things.[d]

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Footnotes

  1. Colossians 1:16 tn BDAG 579 s.v. κυριότης 3 suggests “bearers of the ruling powers, dominions” here.
  2. Colossians 1:17 tn BDAG 973 s.v. συνίστημι B.3 suggests “continue, endure, exist, hold together” here.
  3. Colossians 1:18 tn See the note on the term “firstborn” in 1:15. Here the reference to Jesus as the “firstborn from the dead” seems to be arguing for a chronological priority, i.e., Jesus was the first to rise from the dead.
  4. Colossians 1:18 tn Grk “in order that he may become in all things, himself, first.”